Chef Makoa
ʻAʻama (Hawaiian Black Rock Crab with Paʻakai)
Hawaiʻi's reef-gathered ʻaʻama, the small black rock crab from the shoreline stones, boiled quick in salty water and picked whole at the lūʻau table beside ʻopihi.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
ʻUala Kō (Hawaiian Honey-Roasted Sweet Potato)
Created by
Purple Hawaiian ʻuala roasted until soft at the center and crisp at the edges, then glossed with island honey, butter, and paʻakai for the sweet side of the lūʻau plate.
Side Dishes
Polynesian, Hawaiian
Celebration
Comfort Food
Potluck
15 min
Active Time
40 min cook•55 min total
Yield6 servings
My kumu used to say, eat what you have, and he wasn't only talking about hunger. He meant know what the ʻāina, the land, already put in your hand. In Hawaiʻi, ʻuala, the sweet potato, is one of those old foods that fed people when kalo was scarce, when the dry fields had to carry the family, when the table needed one more good thing and nobody had time for ceremony.
This is Hawaiian, from my home waters, and the cousins know this root too: kūmara in Aotearoa, kumara on Rapa Nui, kumala in Tonga, umala in Sāmoa. One ocean, one canoe, one root, though the scholars still argue how the sweet potato first crossed that water from South America into Polynesian hands. The old people grew it in dry places where taro wouldn't stand wet, and they knew every patch by what it could give.
Here we roast the purple ʻuala slow enough that the inside goes creamy and dense, then finish it with honey, a little butter, and paʻakai, Hawaiian sea salt. Kō means sugarcane in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and that sweetness belongs here, but no need drown the root. The honey should shine on it, not bury it. Let the ʻuala still taste like itself.
Put it beside kālua puaʻa, poke, laulau, and poi, or bring it to a potluck in a pan with foil over the top. Deep food is not fancy. It's not precious. It's food that remembers where it came from, then feeds the people right now.
ʻUala, the Hawaiian sweet potato, was one of the great dryland staple crops of old Hawaiʻi, especially important in leeward places where wet kalo terraces were harder to keep. Across the Triangle, its cousins carry related names, kūmara in Aotearoa, kumara on Rapa Nui, kumala in Tonga, and umala in Sāmoa, and its presence in Polynesia before European contact remains one of the clearest food clues of long-distance voyaging and exchange. Honey and butter are later kitchen companions, but the root underneath is older, a canoe-age food brought forward into the lūʻau and potluck table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Okinawan or Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes (ʻuala)
Quantity
3 pounds
scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
melted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons
or coconut oil
island honey
Quantity
2 tablespoons, plus 1 tablespoon more if needed
neutral oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
paʻakai ʻalaea (Hawaiian red sea salt)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
or coarse sea salt
fresh ginger (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
grated
fresh lime juice (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Okinawan or Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes (ʻuala)scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks | 3 pounds |
| melted butteror coconut oil | 3 tablespoons |
| island honey | 2 tablespoons, plus 1 tablespoon more if needed |
| neutral oil | 1 tablespoon |
| paʻakai ʻalaea (Hawaiian red sea salt)or coarse sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| fresh ginger (optional)grated | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fresh lime juice (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Rimmed half-sheet pan
- •Parchment paper
- •Wide wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven
Set the oven to 425F and line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment. Give the ʻuala room on the pan. Crowding makes them soften without browning, and we want tender centers with a little crisp edge.
- 2
Cut and season
Cut the scrubbed ʻuala into even chunks, about one and a half inches, so they finish together. Toss them with the melted butter, oil, honey, paʻakai, and ginger if you're using it. The pieces should look lightly glossed, not swimming.
- 3
Roast until soft
Spread the ʻuala cut-side down and roast for 25 minutes. Turn the pieces, then roast 10 to 15 minutes more, until a knife slides through without a fight and the edges are browned in spots. No blame the ʻuala if it's slow. Big pieces take their time.
- 4
Finish the glaze
While the ʻuala is still warm, drizzle with the extra honey only if it needs more shine, then toss gently so the glaze catches on the rough roasted edges. Add the lime juice if the honey tastes too heavy. Sweet needs salt and a little brightness to stand up straight.
If your honey is very thick, warm it for a few seconds before drizzling so it coats the ʻuala instead of landing in one sticky spot. - 5
Serve for sharing
Taste once more for paʻakai and set the ʻuala out warm or room temperature, family-style. It belongs beside the deep foods, but it also knows the everyday table: plate lunch, potluck, grilled fish, leftover pork and rice. Enough for one more.
Chef Tips
- •Use firm ʻuala with tight skins and no soft spots. The ugly one may still be the best one, but if it's weeping or smells sour, let it go to compost.
- •Okinawan purple sweet potatoes roast dense and dry in a good way, almost chestnut-like. Orange sweet potatoes work if that's what you have, but reduce the honey a little because they are wetter and sweeter.
- •Coconut oil makes this dairy-free and keeps the island pantry feeling right. Butter gives a richer potluck pan. Both are welcome. Keeper, not gatekeeper.
- •Don't pour on too much honey before roasting. Sugar burns before the ʻuala finishes, so glaze light at the start and touch it again at the end.
Advance Preparation
- •Cut the ʻuala up to 1 day ahead and hold it covered in cold water in the fridge. Drain and dry well before roasting, or the edges won't brown.
- •Roast up to 4 hours ahead and serve at room temperature, or rewarm uncovered in a 350F oven for 10 to 12 minutes and refresh with a small drizzle of honey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 205g)
Calories
300 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
510 mg
Total Carbohydrates
55 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
18 g
Protein
4 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from The Hawaiian Lūʻau Table
Browse the full collection
Chef Makoa
Chicken Long Rice (Hawaiian Ginger Chicken and Glass Noodle Soup)
Hawaiʻi's lūʻau comfort: shredded chicken, slippery long rice noodles, and a clear ginger broth that drinks halfway to soup, born from Chinese hands and kept at the local table.
Chef Makoa
Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)
Cool Hawaiian haupia, coconut milk set firm with pia or arrowroot and cut into white squares, the quiet sweet finish after kālua puaʻa, poke, laulau, and poi have fed the whole table.
Chef Makoa
Kalo Rolls (Hawaiian Taro Bread)
Soft Hawaiian kalo rolls, lavender from poi (pounded taro) and tender with butter, baked pull-apart for the lūʻau (feast) table, the potluck pan, or breakfast.